Family of American Held in North Korea Appeals for His Release

The wife of an 85-year-old Korean War veteran, who was detained in North Korea last month, has appealed to Pyongyang for his release, calling the matter "a dreadful misunderstanding."

Merrill Newman was on an airplane with a tour group set to leave the country in late October when North Korean officials took him off the flight. The U.S. State Department says Pyongyang has acknowledged that it is holding the American.

Newman's wife Lee said Friday that the family has had no word on the state of her husband's health, whether the medications sent to him have been delivered or why he was detained.

North Korea is also holding another American citizen, Kenneth Bae, who was arrested last year and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor on charges of state subversion. Bae is a 45-year-old Christian missionary who entered North Korea as a tour operator.